Relationship between childhood maltreatment and cognitive function in medication-free patients with major depressive disorder

This study aimed to elucidate the contribution of childhood maltreatment (CM) and the disease of major depressive disorder (MDD) on cognitive function in medication-free patients in a current depressive episode, and to examine the effect of CM on the improvement of cognitive function after treatment with antidepressants. One hundred and fifty-three unmedicated patients with MDD and 142 healthy controls (HCs) underwent clinical interviews. CM assessment was performed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and a battery of comprehensive neurocognitive tests was used to assess the participants’ executive function, processing speed, attention, and memory. After 6 months of treatment with antidepressants, the neurocognitive tests were reperformed in patients with MDD and HCs. There was a significant main effect of MDD on all four cognitive domains, while the main effect of CM was only significant on memory. No significant interactive effect was found between MDD and CM on any of the cognitive domains. In the MDD group, higher CTQ total score was predictive of poorer memory performance. After treatment, significant main effects of treatment and MDD were found on all four cognitive domains in remitted patients with MDD. No significant main effect of CM or three-way interaction effect of treatment × MDD × CM was found on any of the cognitive domains. The disease of MDD contributed to impairments in all four cognitive domains. CM independently contributed to memory impairment in patients in a current depressive episode, with higher severity of CM predictive of poorer memory performance.